Japan's central bank lending down 2.1% on year in May

Outstanding loans held by Japanese banks fell 2.1 percent in May from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said in a report on Tuesday.

May's reduction marks the steepest decline since August 2005 and follows a drop of 1.8 percent logged in the previous month which matched the biggest drop in 4 years, the central bank said.

According to the BOJ, the total amount of loans held by Japan's four primary categories of banks, including credit unions, in May stood at 458.75 trillion yen (5.0 trillion U.S. dollars).

Japan's central bank reported that lending from trust banks alone fell 1.3 percent on year in May to 62.6 trillion yen (682.46 billion dollars).

The BOJ, which has kept interest rates at 0.10 percent since late 2008, has eased its policy twice in recent months by offering cheap funds to banks.

Source:Xinhua